Protector
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: In saving Senna, Ichigo Kurosaki's life is changed forever. Unfortunately, a whole new set of challenges await him. Why is Aizen so interested in Senna? And What's all this mumbo jumbo about Ichigo being The Chosen One? Read on to find out.. IchigoxSenna
1. Close

"Bankai!"

Ichigo charged.

He was like a ghost, darting through and around everything that got in his path.

_'No!'_

He was a blur, _nothing_ could catch him.

Suddenly he was visible, appeared before Gannryu, swinging Zangetsu wih one hand.

Suddenly, pain exploded in his gut.

Blood leaked through his mouth, but still he moved forward.

Zangetsu fell from his hand to the ground below.

Still he reached for her, hoping, pleading with whatever higher power that might exist...

He was desperate.

'_Please..._

Gannryu made no effort to stop the shinigami daijo as he fell forward, reaching for Senna's hand-

But his eyes snapped open the moment he felt extra weight, then nothing at all.

"No!"

It was Ichigo.

_Somehow_, someway, he had manged to grab her hand, and in doing so, miracuosly snatched her out the villain's grasp.

As he did so, he pulled her into his chest, wrapping both arms tightly around her thin frame.

However, doing this had taken most of his energy.

And they were now falling to the ground, miles below.

"I was foolish to let him live."

His eyes narrowed as he saw the girl use her zanpaktou to guide the both of them to the ground.

Metal rasped against a sheathe as his blade was drawn.

"I'll finish him off right now."

A voice behind him believed otherwise.

"Hikotsu taihou!"

The resulting flash of red did little actually damage Gannryu, who was able to guard by raising his blade before his face, slicing the massive blast in two.

But then again, destruction was not its purpose.

It had been merely a distraction for the _true _attack.

Abarai Renji wore a sly grin as the smoke cleared.

"Heh."

Zabimaru was now scattered all around him, its jagged spikes glowing a fierce red, and pointing directly at the leader of the Dark Ones.

"Try and dodge it." He hissed, and as he said this, all the spikes converged as one, from every possible angle.

Gannryu could not dodge them all, and was hit a few times, once on the back, and twice upon his right arm and left leg. The spikes tore open his skin, leaking rivulets of blood down his skin.

"Come back here!" Gannryu hissed holidng his side, as Ichigo landed safely on the ground thanks to some assistance from Senna.

Before he could pursue them Renji, launched towards Gannryu. "Here we go, Zabimaru!" He shouted lashing the giant zanpaktoy long sword at the man forcing him back as the whip's jaws snapped at him again and again.

But there was still the matter of the other Dark Ones, and now they were trying their best to converge upon the wounded Ryoka, who was still unconcious.

Fortunately, they were still tangled up by the other captain's, but it was now left to Renji, the only one keeping a _very _angry Gannryu at bay.

_'Crap, I'm not gonna be able to hold him..._

Fortunately, he did not have to.

"Chire: Senbonzakura."

A wall of petals now consumed the man's right arm, tearing and shredding at it violently.

Somehow, he managed to get away from it, but now one Byakuya Kuchiki stood in his path.

"And who are you?"

"I am your opponent." Byakuya stated simply.

Gannryu, seeing that this was becoming a loosing battle, as by this point, half the captains were here, ordered a retreat. "Fall back! We'll get her later!"

He turned to look down at Ichigo.

"This is not over."Was his snarled hiss. With that, he, his men, along with the white blanks...

Simply dissapeared.

"Ichigo! Somebody help!"

Everyone now turned their attention to the fallen shinigami, who by this point was barely breathing.

He had been pierced all the way through, and instead of drawing air through his own lungs...

He was coughing up blood, choking on his own bile.

His vision was fading, his blood pooled beneath him.

"Ichigo!" Senna knew better than to shake him, but still she did.

"Don't die!"

"Someone get captain Unohanna!"

The last thing Ichigo saw was Senna's amber eyes.

A watery chuckle echoed round in his mind.

His voice.

**You really are pathetic, you know that king?**

_'You..._

**We need to talk.**

Then the blackness took him.

**TADA!** **So what do you think of the remake people? You like? by the way if you didn't watch the movie, you will be VERY confused! review please! **


	2. BAKA!

They _barely_ made it in time.

Even with flash steps, had they been a second late...

Ichigo Kurosaki would have almost certainly died.

Immediately Unohanna was sent for, and immediately she came, tending to Ichigo's pierce lungs.

However, though flesh could be healed...

Blood could not be so easily replaced.

"Take mine!" Cried Senna, immediately offering herself for the blood transfusion needed to save Ichigo.

Soul Society didn't have a choice. Technically Shinigami were already dead, and since Ichigo was still a human, he needed _human _blood, not shinigami ectoplasma.

Senna was the only living individual around at the time...

--

(Mindscape)

"Gah!" Cried Ichigo, jolting awake, and sitting up, his heartbeat restarted.

**"Bout time." **Quipped a familair voice.

Slowly, the shinigami turned to the right.

Sitting down next to him, was Hichigo.

And he looked like _shit_.

Despite his dire state, Ichigo could not help the smirk.

"Not feelin' well?"

The pale version of himself snarled, gritting his teeth together.

**"Idiot! Its because of you that I'm this way!"**

Ichigo still kept up the smirk.

"Oh yeah, if I do then you go with me. Sounds like a fair trade-

Hichigo leaked a small amount of killer intent, but there was not much more he could do other than that.

**"Fair trade my friggin' ass! I ain't gonna be pushin' up daises any time soon!"**

Ichigo laid back against the building, arms crossed behind his head.

"Mind tellin' me what you're doing here then?"

Hichigo bit his lip until it bled. **"Damn you. I can't believe I'm doing this."**

Ichigo suddenly became wary.

"Doing what-

Hichigo suddenly seized his arm, and then his entire being pale being began to pulse a dark blue.

**"This!"**

The ryoka was visibly surprised, and now struggled to break free.

But the grip was iron, Hichigo refused to leave go of him, grinning maniaclly.

**"Make sure you don't die before I show up again, partner!"**

He began to fragment now, burning away from his feet up, dissolving into Ichigo, until the shinigami himself was glowing...

Life came rushing back into the corpse.

--

(Hospital)

Ichigo's body suddenly spasmed on the bed, and his heart rate went from 0 to a steady beat in less than three seconds.

The nurse stared at him for a second, unsure of what to do.

Or the mask upon his face.

Then his eyes opened, and the mask vanished.

"Water...He croaked, brown eyes weak and hazy.

This spurred her into action.

"Unohanna-taichou!"

--

A steady knocking on her door, woke her from her slumber.

From her dreams of him.

Deep amber eyes opened hazzily.

Who could that be at this time of night?

Grumbling to herself, she sat up in bed, parted the covers, revealing her attire.

Contrary to the school girlish uniform she always wore, Senna now wore a simple one piece nightie, white in color, which contrasted her silvery hair perfectly, not to mention _straining_ against the ample assets of her body, something she did not often indulge herself in noticing.

Rukia had given it to her to change in to, as opposed to her blood soaked clothes.

A small shiver ran through her body as she stood up, revealing that the babydoll one piece nightie was rather small on her, and ended a centimeter or two above her knees, showing off her long legs, perfectly toned and smoothed with the flawless muscles of her alabaster skin.

But she was in pain, and you could tell this much by the look on her face.

Urgh, this thing was too damn _tight_!

Frowning, she pulled up the straps of her gown, and allowed her breasts to breathe, the expansive cup cleavage bouncing slightly in relief, as the pressure lessened slightly.

Scowling, she moved her breasts around a bit, so as to better situate them, until at last, the DD cup mounds of flesh were better situated within the confines of her bra.

Another shiver, and she hugged herself, hands going around her waists in an effort to do so.

Rolling her eyes, she ignored whoever it might be, and went to shut the window...

Odd.

It was already shut.

Then why was it so-

The knocking was growing louder now, and beginning to drag on her nerves, which were already _frayed_ at best.

Striding across her room, she briefly paused in the mirror just to make sure whoever it was didn't see anything he or she wasn't supposed to see.

Honestly, why did she even bother _wearing_ this stupid thing?

It didn't let her body breathe, it was too short, to thin, and it wasn't like she had anyone to show off for...

"Ack!" She spit, as she saw the condition her hair was in.

The only thing that seemed to offset this gorgeous beauty-

Would be the fact that her hair, _manageable _at best during the day, was now sticking up in the back and at the sides, giving her a rather comical anime appearance.

The classic example of a manga bedhead.

But it could not be helped, at this late hour of the night.

Oh well, she'd just have to take her frustrations out on her guest.

"Rrrgh. They have some nerve...

A loud bang, and she jumped, now even angrier than before.

"FINE! I'm coming!"

Stalking the rest of the way across her sparse room, she all but yanked open the door-

And found Byakuya Kuchiki standing before her.

"Come with me." He stated.

She managed a nod.

--

And her eyes tripled, as she was led into the sick ward.

She heard him before she saw him.

"Hey! Lemme go! I'm fine damnit!"

"Hold still! You were dead five seconds ago!"

"We'll I'm allright now! So let go!"

"You just came out of a coma. You are most certainly not fine. You still need rest." That was the voice of the 4th squad captain.

He abruptly quieted, as did the sounds of his struggling.

"Yes Ma'am."

Byakuya shook his head in mild disdain as he halted at a room from which the voice had emanated.

"I'll leave him to you."

He then waited outside the door.

"..." She was struck speechless, her mouth opening in a small 0, as the wood creaked open.

Silently, she walked to his side, stepping past Unohanna, her face blank, even as she stood over him.

"Hey." He murmured, looking up at her blearily from the hospital bed.

The tears began to well up in her eyes, hot fresh and stinging.

She could barely form the words, her hand rubbing at her eyes, just to make sure she wasn't deceiving herself.

But she _still_ saw him.

Saw his face, even as she scrunched her eyes shut against the light or tears, she could not be sure, her head hung low.

Tears, definitely, as the sobbing started, and her hands balled into fists, water streaming through her eyes, down her face, lower lip beginning to tremble, as did she.

He couldn't speak, and neither could she.

Idiot! How could he be so calm at a time like this?! Did he have any _idea_ what he put her through?! Did he even _care_?! All these thoughts and more ran through her head, at the speed of light.

It all built up, until-until-

"Baka!" She shrieked, tackling him on the bed, causing him to cry out.

The battered Ichigo hugged back with what little strength he had left in his body.

But all the same he knew.

His arms, strong, gentle, and oh so very _warm_, embraced her trembling frame, pulling the smaller girl into his chest. She began beating at him with her fists, but her blows held no power, no strength, no aggression.

"I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear, bending over as he did so, so she could hear him better.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!" Her wails were muffled by his blood crusted robes, but she held onto him for dear life now, as if to let go would send her to the darkest depths of hell itself. Her words were choked with emotion, filled with hiccups and sobs for evey syllable. "Baka! Baka baka baka! Do you have any _idea_ how much I-I-I-

He was stunned.

He had never before seen anyone like this, least of all someone he knew.

Never before had he seen her so weak, so faint, so...

Frail.

He could feel her skin beneath his fingertips, so _thin_ was her fabric.

He blushed at his train of thought.

"H-Hey! I'm okay! S-So stop crying!"

She snifled, and pulled away.

"I-Ichigo...

He managed a weak grin.

"I'm (cough) fine."

"You are not! You're all beat up!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"I'M FINE!"

"If you are 'okay' then, Kurosaki, Yamamoto-taichou wants a word with you." Stated Kuchiki Byakuya.

Ichigo paled.

A meeting with he captains?

Maybe he _wasn't_ feeling so well after all.


	3. Choice

"Well well, this _is_ an unexpected surprise, Kurosaki Ichigo." Clicking his teeth together, Ichigo swallowed nervously under the stares of the captain's."We did not expect you to recover so soon."

"Erm...thanks."

Without Yamamoto's kind word's, he wouldn't be sane at the moment.

"Let us make this quick." Everyone started slightly as Unohanna spoke up. "He still hasn't full recovered from his wounds, and I'd prefer it he return to the sick bay immediately."

"Interesting." Ichigo shuddered as Mayuri tittered to himself, apparently fascinated with his sudden ressurection. "In all my years I've never seen anyone rise from the dead in such a fashion, and certainly not while wearing a hollow mask."

A few of the captain's stiffened at this, but Mayuri paid them no heed.

"Perhaps I could-

_"No."_ Yamamoto cut in sternly. "There will be no experimentation allowed on him."

Captain-commander Yamamoto went through the typical motions of a meeting: addressing new strategies on preparing for Aizen's attack, budgetary constraints, and the eventual replacement of the squad members no longer among them. He then surprised everyone by allowing Captain Mayuri to take the floor.

"Before we left the world of the living," he began, stepping out from his respective spot in line. "My lieutenant and I made a number of interesting discoveries. We stumbled upon Urahara Kisuke, the former captain of my division and head of Soul Society's science department. While a gifted scientist in his own right, his research was limited and showed a great deal of sloppiness. This made rummaging through and deciphering the labels in his laboratory, even for someone as brilliant as myself, more tedious than it shou—"

"Can you hurry this up, you creepy freakin' nutjob?" the always elegant Captain Zaraki interjected. "We don't have all day to listen to you stroke your ego."

"You keep quiet, you idiotic beast!" Mayuri replied, jabbing an excessively long fingernail toward his verbal rival.

A few of the captains sighed at the budding argument; Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Zaraki Kenpachi could always turn every meeting into a shouting contest, Kenpachi usually insulting Mayuri's odd habits and Mayuri retorting by calling Zaraki some sort of brutishly degrading name. Even Ichigo was hoping that Yamamoto would step in soon; he was the only person in the room that could derail these two without getting dragged into the argument themselves. _Hell, even the ever-calm Kuchiki Byakuya can get dragged into the fray._

Almost as if on cue, Byakuya began to speak to the other captains in his typical emotionless voice. Ichigo began to zone out the voices, his mind drifting as he glanced over the captains in attendance.

--

"Gah, what's taking them so long?!"

A massive reaitsu could be felt from the meeting room, occasionally punctuated by loud shouting, and the ever present profanity from an irate Kenpachi Zaraki.

Unused to sitting still for such a long time, Senna fidgeted in her seat. She'd been told to wait outside, before lieutenant Sasakib escorted Ichigo inside, then locked the doors behind him.

"Ichigo....

--

"Ahem." The ryoka turned his head as Ukitake began to speak. "Kurosaki. I understand we've asked you a lot over the course of this last month, but please, would mind recounting to us how you and the-

Ichigo scowled at this, and Jushirou immediately corrected himself.

"Ahem. That is, would you explain to us how the two of you met?"

The memory came rushing back to him.

_(Flashback)_

_There, in the clearing, gathered, hundreds, no thousands of stark white apparitions, the sole source of color being the small tuft of red sticking out from their foreheads. They were faceless, seemingly without hands or legs, as if they were robed._

_"What the...?"_

_Adding to the chaos, another gust of wind, this one in the shape of a cyclone, slammed into the center of the strange apparitions. The two shinigami turned as the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheathe filled the air._

_Startled, he could only stare at the strange girl, even as she ruthlessly dispensed of the nameless ghosts. She seemed to dance on the wind itself, pausing only to spiral up into the air with a burst of unseen energy. Shunpo? No wait, this was something else, as she drew her sword..._

_Wind._

_It was the wind, he realized, as the leaves blew by his face._

_But before she could finish the shikai command, Zangetsu slammed into her sword._

_"Oi! Whaddya think your doing?! Those things aren't hollows!"_

_The calm serenity upon her face faded, replaced by a scowl._

_"Outta my way, dumbass!" With that being said, she shoved her sword forward, inserting her foot into his face, then kicking off with suprising force. Stunned, Ichigo could only spit a curse as his body slammed into the ground._

_"Bitch!" He spit up at her, leaping back to his face. "You stepped on my face!"_

_"Hmph." Unimpeded, the mysterious soul reaper continued to twirl on the airborn leaves, beginning her earnest chant once more. "Bring forth the twilight," a golden light consuming her arms, then traveling the entire length of her sword, from hilt to blade._

_"Mirokumaru!"_

_With a flash of light, her zanpaktou extended, growing into a long Khakkhara, that is, a monk's staff. As Ichigo looked on, a tunnel of wind erupted from the staff, clearing out a wave of the ghosts with but a single sweep._

_As if sensing the danger, the remaining creatures tried to flee, only for another wall of wind, this one a tornado, to wipe them away. A triumphant laugh escaping her lips, the girl continued to pivot herself, obliterating wave after wave of the fleeing beasts._

_And as quickly as it had begun, it was over._

_(End Flashback)_

_--_

"Yeah, I guess." Ichigo shrugged. "But what's that, these Blanks I mean, got to do with me and Senna?"

Toshirou turned aside slightly, a small frown tugging at his visage.

A small smile pulled at the wrinkles on Yamamoto's face. "Kurosaki Ichigo, think for a moment. You are already informed of the present situation, so do _you_ think why we have called you here?"

"Nope." The newbie vizard shrugged. "Not a clue."

"Imbecile." Mayuri sighed to himself with a shake of his head. "Must we really do this?

"What?" Ichigo frowned, uncertain, ill at ease. "Do what?"

"In regards to you recent...hollowfication." The tension leapt several notches when Sajin Komamura dared to elaborate on the matter. "You see, you are not the first to find yourself in this...situation."

"Eh?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head.

"Kurosaki." Soi fon, captain of the second division, picked up where the fox faced captain had left off, and she, unlike Sajin, was much more stern in her opinion of the matter. "You know what we think of hollows."

"!!" His hand flew to the hilt of Zangetsu.

_"However."_ Byakuya proved to be the voice of reason in the chaos, his slate colored eyes betraying nothing as he directed his words towards the former ryoka. "I believe head captain Yamamoto still has something to say on that matter."

"Indeed I do." The first captain rapped his cane against the floor now, motioning for silence. Ichigo didn't draw his sword, but, still wary, neither did he uncurl his fingers from the hilt.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. You have illegally aqcuired hollow powers, defended a fugitive from the law, and raised your sword against the Soul Society. Yet you show no remorse for your actions." Ichigo scowled, and made to draw.

"But!"

The vizard paused "But what?" Zangetsu was partway out of the cloth now, but Yamamoto didn't seem too concerned with the impending threat on his life. "We will be willing to grant you full pardon, and the one known as Senna, under one condition."

"And that is?"

"Do you see the three empty spaces beside you, Kurosaki?"Yamamoto leaned forward slightly, his squinted eyes peering at the young soul reaper before him, amused at his dense nature. "We are in need of capable officers to fill the gap left behind by captains' Ichimaru, Sosuke, and Tousen. Furthermore, we are sorely lacking in talented shinigami, such as yourself, to fill those positions. Surely you understand that which I speak of?"

"Eh?" Ichigo started in surprise.

"Correct. Captain Ukitake had volunteered to take Senna as his lieutenant, granted that you fill one of the position's left by Sosuke Aizen." Ichigo didn't reply as Yamamoto promised the two of them Soul Society's protection, whilst assuring that Ichigo could carry on his normal life, as would Senna, if so she chose. He _couldn't_ reply, for his jaw had hit the floor.

Shunsui Kyoraku smiled lightly, tipping his hat forward.

"So whaddya say?"

Ichigo finally found his voice, only to look away.

"Why me?"

"Simply put, we admire your resolve."

"...Fine." He muttered, hoping this was the right decision. "I'll do it." There were a few muffled congratulations as the captains' filed out. Shunsui Kyoraku patted the boy's shoulder and smiled gently at the perplexed ryoka, apparently still caught up in the aftermath of his decision.

"Welcome to the thirteen court guard squads, Ichigo-kun."

**Next time: Tying up lose ends.**


End file.
